So in July my friend Kim and I are going to Mayhemfest (yay!). Kim wanted me to make her a skirt to wear, because neither of us are into wearing shorts in public, and it's going to be HOT as hades. She showed me a red and yellow plaid skirt she'd bought at Hot Topic years ago that was just screamed "hey look at me I'm trying sooooo hard to be punk!" Which is fine, if you're into that. But my Kimmikat is really not. So I made this fun little skirt from some blue, green, and black plaid, and stole the safety pins from the other skirt. Viola! Less attention seeking and more "yay I'm cute!"

I was totally surprised and pleased at how well the plaid matches up on the center front panel, I wasn't trying AT ALL.

It doesn't really flare out to the right all wierd like it appears to in this picture, that was just the angle.

I was thinking of putting 3/4" black ribbon trim over the seam where the bottom connects to the top instead of having the safety pins, but I'm not sure. Any suggestions?

I hope you enjoyed! It was incredibly simple and took less than an hour, so if anyone wants instructions I'd be happy to oblige. ***************************************************************

This is my first real tutorial, so please be kind!

1) This is pretty much the pattern I used, the dimensions are all approximate and keep in mind that my friend is TINY (5', about 100 lbs!), so you may have to increase the measurements, especially the heights of the pieces if you are not pocket sized. ^_^ You will also need to use material with a slight stretch, otherwise you will need to insert a zipper if the material does not stretch, or use an elastic waistband if it is very stretchy.a) Oh, and the front skirt placket should say 10", not 8". Sorry, typo.b) Also, when I say waist, I should have said 'the place where you like the waistband of your pants/skrit/shorts etc. to hit'... for me that is about an inch below my natural waist, for my friend Kim it is about 4". You will definitely need to elongate the top piece of the skirt if you wear your skirts/pants/shorts etc. high, like I do. Sorry!

2) Take the skirt panel (long rectangle) and fold and pin like this:

3) Then take the front placket (short rectangle) and fold and pin it like shown (the grey piece) to the skirt panel.

4) Stitch the pleats down.

5) Sew the 2 top pieces together on each side to form a tube. (if you are using a zipper, leave one side open so you can insert the zipper later)

6) Flip the top part inside out and put it right-sides-together with the bottom part. Stitch all the way around.

7) Turn skirt right side out, topstitch the seam you just finished, hem the bottom, and fold the top over about 1" - 1.5" to create a waistband. Leave as is, or insert elastic if you are using an elastic waistband, or insert the zipper at this time. And viola! You now have your own box pleat skirt. ^_^

I hope this tutorial made sense, if you have any questions or suggestions on how I could make a better tutorial in the future, feel free to pm me or leave a comment. Thanks!